Fans of the Edmonton Oilers struggled through years of seeing their five-time Stanley Cup champions reduced to operating as a bargain basement outfit in the mid-1990s, as GM Glen Sather was forced to cut corners and try to put together and keep together teams on the cheap. From Wayne Gretzky on down the line, selling players and salary dumps marked the last decade of Sather’s tenure working without the financial resources to compete.
The problem with trading away established stars or young players just about to blossom to make ends meet is that sooner or later the talent drain bites a team on the backside. Such was the case with young Slovak winger Miroslav Satan, whose trade to the Buffalo Sabres when he was just emerging with the Oilers left yet another set of teeth marks in the name of pinching pennies. Satan was just 22 when Sather traded him for Craig Millar and Barrie Moore. If you don’t know who they are, you can find out more by searching “worst Oiler trades of all-time” on the internet.

Miroslav Satan

Left Wing — shoots L
Born Oct 22nd, 1974 — Topolcany, Slovakia
Height 6.01 — Weight 195 [185 cm/88 kg]
Drafted by Edmonton Oilers
Round 5 #111 overall 1993 NHL Entry Draft

BY THE NUMBERS

Season
Age
Tm
GP
G
A
PTS
+/-
PIM
S
S%
ATOI
1995-96
21
EDM
62
18
17
35
0
22
113
15.9
1996-97
22
TOT
76
25
13
38
-3
26
119
21.0
1996-97
22
EDM
64
17
11
28
-4
22
90
18.9
1996-97
22
BUF
12
8
2
10
1
4
29
27.6
1997-98
23
BUF
79
22
24
46
2
34
139
15.8
1998-99
24
BUF
81
40
26
66
24
44
208
19.2
20:49
1999-00
25
BUF
81
33
34
67
16
32
265
12.5
20:35
2000-01
26
BUF
82
29
33
62
5
36
206
14.1
19:56
2001-02
27
BUF
82
37
36
73
14
33
267
13.9
21:10
2002-03
28
BUF
79
26
49
75
-3
20
240
10.8
21:23
2003-04
29
BUF
82
29
28
57
-15
30
206
14.1
20:02
2005-06
31
NYI
82
35
31
66
-8
54
253
13.8
19:10
2006-07
32
NYI
81
27
32
59
-12
46
216
12.5
18:35
2007-08
33
NYI
80
16
25
41
-11
39
171
9.4
18:19
2008-09
34
PIT
65
17
19
36
3
36
120
14.2
15:45
2009-10
35
BOS
38
9
5
14
8
12
59
15.3
15:46
8 yrs
BUF
578
224
232
456
44
233
1560
14.4
20:39
3 yrs
NYI
243
78
88
166
-31
139
640
12.2
18:42
2 yrs
EDM
126
35
28
63
-4
44
203
17.2
1 yr
BOS
38
9
5
14
8
12
59
15.3
15:46
1 yr
PIT
65
17
19
36
3
36
120
14.2
15:45
Career
1050
363
372
735
20
464
2582
14.1
19:28

PLAYOFFS

Season
Age
Tm
GP
G
A
PTS
+/-
PIM
S%
ATOI
1996-97
22
BUF
7
0
0
0
-1
0
0.0
1997-98
23
BUF
14
5
4
9
-9
4
25.0
1998-99
24
BUF
12
3
5
8
3
2
12.0
21:18
1999-00
25
BUF
5
3
2
5
2
0
27.3
19:52
2000-01
26
BUF
13
3
10
13
4
8
7.5
21:18
2006-07
32
NYI
5
1
2
3
0
0
10.0
15:15
2008-09
34
PIT
17
1
5
6
1
11
4.8
9:55
2009-10
35
BOS
13
5
5
10
4
16
13.5
18:31
Career
86
21
33
54
4
41
12.4
17:11

WITH THE OILERS

Satan, drafted by the Oilers 111th overall in 1993, opened some eyes during the 1994-95 season when he scored 25 goals in 24 games with Edmonton’s AHL affiliate in Cape Breton. Satan followed that up with 18 goals and 35 points in just 62 games with the Oilers in 1995-96. In 1996-97, Satan was playing on a contract that paid him just $274,000, but he was due for a new deal – one Sather thought might approach $800,000. While that seems like small money now, it wasn’t, at least for the Oilers, back then.
Satan had 17 goals and 28 points in 64 games when Sather, eyes as always on the bottom line — he worried about the possibility Satan might return to Europe if contract talks fell through, which would leave the Oilers with nothing — moved him for Millar and Moore at the March trade deadline. Sather was right about the money, as Satan’s next deal with the Sabres paid him $1.4 million over two years, but that was little solace to fans. Millar would play just 36 games with the Oilers. Moore played four.

DOWN THE ROAD

While Millar and Moore went on to become the answers to a trivia question with the Oilers, Satan would lead the Sabres in scoring six times and would finish 10th in franchise scoring by the time he was done in Buffalo. All told, Satan reached the 20-goal mark 10 times, he scored 30 goals four times and had one 40-goal season in 924 games in stints with Buffalo, the New York Islanders, Boston and Pittsburgh after leaving Edmonton.
Satan scored 363 regular season goals, had 21 more in the playoffs and finished with 735 points in 1,050 games (126 of those with the Oilers). Satan won the 2009 Stanley Cup with Pittsburgh. The Oilers drafted Satan and they developed him. What they didn’t do was keep him. Even in those tight budget times, it’s obvious now finding a way to do that would have been money well spent.
This series of various Top 10 lists will focus on the post-1990 Oilers – the players who haven’t played on a Stanley Cup winner in Edmonton.

Previously in this Series: